


heaven is a place on earth (with you)

by ordinarypleasures



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Slow Burn, some fluff later on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-01-25 16:56:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18578671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ordinarypleasures/pseuds/ordinarypleasures
Summary: “This is the road that led me to you and I don’t regret it.”or Stefan and Caroline are getting married, and Damon and Bonnie still manage to find their way back to each other.





	1. We're Planning a June Wedding.

_‘Facetime. 10 mins.’_

If there was one thing Caroline Forbes appreciated, it was punctuality. So after reading her message, Bonnie made sure to call 2 minutes before to account for any connection issues. It was what Caroline would have done. It had been at least a month since their last facetime (or contact in general, except the occasional catch up text) and she missed the blonde’s company. 

A couple of rings later, she was greeted by Caroline’s beaming, glowing face. Something was up. It was still the afternoon for her but it was currently night time for Bonnie as she lounged in a red flannel shirt and pyjama shorts on her couch, ready to go to sleep. 

“Okay, I know the world isn’t ending otherwise you wouldn’t be this happy so what’s going on. _Spill._ ” Bonnie cut to the chase, wiggling her eyebrows.

“What are you talking about? I’m being my usual, happy self.” Caroline was never a good liar.

“Care…”

“Hey! I’m just very content right now! I have a great job, a great place and a great…” her left hand brushes a stray hair out of her face, showing off a blindingly bright diamond on her ring finger. “…fiancé.”

Both girls burst into face-splitting, teeth-showing smiles before letting out blood-curdling screams of excitement (which most definitely left Bonnie’s neighbours confused). Stefan had actually popped the question. They’d dreamed about this day ever since they were little, as soon as they were able to put on makeshift veils made from pillowcases. Even though they became less concerned with things like that when they were constantly being threatened by supernatural threats beyond their understanding. But here they were, celebrating Caroline’s engagement and it was so ordinary and human. Bonnie couldn’t remember the last time they’d done something like this. Her constant travelling excluded her from rejoicing in these sorts of things in person. When you weren’t local, you could hardly go down to the bar and meet friends on short notice to share a drink or two. Instead you’d be lucky to get a decent signal to have a 5-minute phone call. 

She moved around constantly since she left Mystic Falls. It had been almost 3 years since she’d packed her bags and left, not looking back. Of course, she’d said her goodbyes to everyone; Caroline, Elena, Stefan, Matt…

( _‘not everyone.’_ The voice in her head piped up. She chose to ignore it.)

And with nothing more than some clothes, her camera and her passport, she was bound for greater things outside of their little town. Even after they’d found peace, after fighting tooth and nail for the place they loved, she had to get out. Remaining there…wasn’t an option. And it hadn’t been for a long time. So, she travelled. To South America, Asia, Europe leading to her current life in Rome. She made new memories. New friends. New loves. It was what she wanted. What Grams wanted for her. She went out and saw the world and loved every second of it. 

But deep down inside there was a part of her that longed, ached, _yearned_ for something. 

( _‘or someone’_ the little voice piped up again. Again, she chose to ignore it.)

Caroline’s tinny voice through the speaker dragged her out of her thoughts. “Earth to Bon? Are you listening?” 

“God, I’m sorry, I’m so happy for you I just-I just can’t believe you’re getting _married._ ” Bonnie gushed, grounding herself again.

“Neither can I – I mean Stefan wasn’t particularly subtle about it he’d been dropping hints about it for a while now and I went along with it - but oh god you should have seen him! He took me out to dinner and he was stumbling over his words and oh you wouldn’t believe the waiter actually interrupted us while he was talking but anyway he was such a bumbling mess, it was the cutest thing, I mean I said yes immediately! I didn’t even let him finish I was too excited!” She spoke at 100 words per minute but Bonnie didn’t care, she was just happy to see Caroline happy – she could practically feel it radiating off her phone screen.

“I can’t believe he proposed! I mean of course he would but I didn’t think it’d be so soon! Have you guys decided on a wedding date?”

“Actually, we have…we’re planning a June wedding…” Caroline bit her lip hesitantly as waiting for Bonnie’s response.

As she expected, the witch’s smile shifted slowly as her eyebrows furrowed doing the maths in her head.

“June? That’s only like 4 months away?” She questioned confused. 

Caroline nodded.

“And I’m gonna need my best friends there to help me plan and prep everything.” 

Bonnie tried not to let her apprehension show through, instead putting on the best smile she could muster. “Caroline Forbes, are you asking me to be a bridesmaid?”

“Actually, I want you to be my maid of honour – well you and Elena both - so I need you. Here.” 

Bonnie didn’t even open her mouth before she spoke up again.

“I’m not taking no for an answer.”

The softest laugh left Bonnie. “Guess I have no choice then.”

They continued talking to each other for another 20 minutes – well mostly it was Caroline spilling all her plans for the wedding and Bonnie nodding in agreement. The witch couldn’t help but feel a swell of happiness seeing her best friend so ecstatic. Her thoughts wondered to Liz, who would have wanted to be there for Caroline, to help her pick out her dress and walk her down the aisle. She knew that her friend was probably feeling that hole of missing her mother. But her and Elena would be there. It wouldn’t replace her but it would be something. Once they had said their goodbyes though, she felt that familiar sinking sensation in her stomach – she was gonna have to face it, him, at some point. She’d hoped to avoid it for as long as possible but she couldn’t be a coward. Not anymore. And especially not when she had to be there for Caroline.

(Later that night when she had settled into bed, she was faced with the same recurring dream she’d had for the past couple of months. Of stark blue eyes staring back at her.)

 

*

 

“Damon, can you take this seriously please?”

Stefan rubbed his temple with his right hand whilst his left held a half-drunk glass of whiskey. Damon truly revelled in frustrating his brother. 

“Sorry little brother, can’t help it.” He quirked his eyebrows, taking another sip of his drink, ignoring the way Stefan rolled his eyes.

“So, will you?”

“Stefan I’d love to be your best man…seeing as I am your only friend.” Damon couldn’t help but sneak in a little jab.

Stefan gave a long sigh in response. “Please don’t make me regret this.”

The boarding house became wedding planning central with Caroline being the tornado she was organising everything. She’d taken on the stress of planning the wedding, despite Stefan’s offers to help 

(“I love you but you’re a terrible party planner.”). 

So while she was out meeting the ‘best florist in Virginia’, according to her, Stefan chose to take the opportunity to pop the big question to Damon. As per usual, he made a joke out of it but that was Damon. It’d be weird if he didn’t. 

“So, do I have any best man duties?” He wiggled his eyebrows 

“Besides standing next to me on my wedding day? No.” Short and sweet.

“Not even planning your bachelor party?”

“Especially planning my bachelor party.”

“Killjoy.” It was Damon’s turn to roll his eyes, though he couldn’t suppress his smirk as he raised his glass. “But here’s to my little brother getting married – and here I thought you’d be too fucked up to settle down.”

“I guess that counts as a toast.”

With a clink of their glasses, they drank some more and sat in comfortable silence.

Until Damon decided to break it.

“So, I’m assuming blondie chose her bridesmaids then?” he refused to make eye contact with Stefan, knowing he’d only see that _look._

“Yeah…Elena and…Bonnie.”

Damon tried his best to keep his face neutral but he knew Stefan caught him. He’d always been observant like that. It was a pain in Damon’s ass.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Stefan’s concerned brotherly tone seeped through, making Damon cringe.

“Of course, I’ve been in worse situations…with more women.” He laughed it off but it didn’t seem quite so genuine.

He knew that she wouldn’t miss the wedding. She could never break blondie’s heart like that. She may have gotten up and left but she still kept in contact with them as much as she could – well everyone except him. He wished he could blame her but he knew that their downfall began because of him. He’d assumed she’d forgive him at some point and they’d go back to being _Damon and Bonnie._ That was what usually happened. She would be angry at him, make him suffer for a bit but they’d eventually make up. Except this time, it didn’t. And it tortured him in a way he was unfamiliar with. Sometimes when he was alone with only a glass of whatever alcohol was lying around, his finger hovered over her name on his phone and he’d be curious to see whether she’d pick up or not. He didn’t even know what he would say, he just hoped to hear her voice. Hoped to hear her snarky comments and know that they were back to normal. Whatever normal was for them. But every time he resisted. All these years later and he was still being a coward. 

“Damon…” Stefan began, ready to spread some of his wisdom crap that Damon really didn’t want to hear.

“I don’t want to get into it besides she’ll probably be avoiding me anyway. She’s stubborn like that.” Stefan could have sworn he saw the smallest hint of a smile before it vanished completely.

Damon was thankful when Stefan dropped the subject and moved on, sparing him from any more embarrassment. As fun as it was to go down memory lane and relive those memories that still pained him, he had accepted how things had happened. Whether or not, he dealt with it well was another matter. One that he didn’t feel inclined to dive too deep into. 

Stefan had been particularly concerned by how not erratic his behaviour became once the witch had left. Rather than act in typical Damon fashion, he’d done the complete opposite. He fell into a different type of sadness than any of them had ever seen. Even Elena was confused, unsure of how to deal with the reaction. It was uncharacteristic of him. Her and Stefan could deal with the self-destructive, impulsive Damon. They were used to it. What they struggled with was the Damon that seemed unenthused about anything and everything. The Damon that seemed incomplete. Moping around and lacking the annoying but charming ‘wit’ they’d grown accustomed to. They’d tried so hard to understand the sudden change in his behaviour but it seemed impossible. Of course, as time passed, the days turning into weeks, the weeks turning into months, the months turning into years, the Damon they loved (or tolerated, in Caroline’s case) returned and things almost seemed normal. Keyword being almost. But Stefan still remembered the night he began to realise just what was going through his brother’s head.

_  
He and Caroline laid in bed, him reading his poetry book while she furiously typed on her laptop. Despite this though, he couldn’t get Damon out of his mind, his worry obvious on his face as he rested the book on his lap._

_“I just don’t get why he’s acting like this Care. I just don’t.”_

_“Of course, you don’t.” She simply said, eyes never leaving the screen. “You never saw it.”_

_“Saw what?” She didn’t have to look up to know he had his eyebrows furrowed, wrinkles forming on his forehead._

_“The way he looked at her.”_

_With that Caroline said no more, letting the weight of her words sink into Stefan. The wheels turning in his head as he put two and two together._

__

After that, he had a newfound sympathy for his brother. There was a conflict inside of him that he hadn’t even realised yet. So, Stefan was prepared to let him come to that epiphany himself, knowing full well that _her_ return to Mystic Falls would perhaps be the catalyst that his brother needed.

 

*

 

Later that night, while Damon drifted to sleep with Elena in his arms, he was faced with the same recurring dream he’d had for the past few months. Of brilliant green eyes staring back at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh i'm writing a slow burn fic - it's gonna be painful (don't say i didn't warn y'all). idk how long it's gonna be just yet but a couple of things to note about the 'canon' of this fic.
> 
> 1\. bonnie left right after her and elena's life got unlinked which occurred after damon woke up from desiccating for 3 years (consider the whole heretics thing scrapped - we don't acknowledge that plotline here !)
> 
> 2\. no one died, everyone's still alive!
> 
> 3\. stefan and caroline are getting married a couple years AFTER bonnie left
> 
> if there's anything else that needs to be clarified it'll usually be cleared up in the notes section at the end of chapters. i'm really excited to write this story and i do wanna warn you guys that some chapters may be released slower than others because i am a perfectionist but please let me know what you think but most importantly enjoy!


	2. That's Not Enough. Not Anymore.

Despite touching down hours before, Bonnie still felt like she was in a dream. Watching Mystic Falls pass by her through the window made her aware of how little had really changed in their small town. All the places she frequented like the coffeeshop, the park and, of course, Mystic Grill were just as she’d left them. In an instant, she felt like 17-year-old Bonnie again without a care in the world, her only concerns being passing algebra and finding a date to prom. The nostalgia coursed through her and for a moment she was lost in it. In the memories. 

“Bon, you’re starting to freak me out, you haven’t said anything since we left the airport.” Caroline glanced over, taking her eyes off the road, impatient fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

She’d offered to pick Bonnie up as soon as she had bought her ticket for her flight home. In usual Bonnie fashion, she declined at first, not wanting to be an inconvenience, but the blonde was adamant about not taking no for an answer. She’d missed how stubborn Caroline could be. 

After an hour’s drive from the airport in her pristine silver Prius, they arrived back in Mystic Falls. Bonnie had held her breath when they passed the recognisable ‘Welcome to Mystic Falls’ sign on the edge of the town. As if she had sensed her hesitation, Caroline instinctively reached over and gave her a gentle reassuring squeeze and a friendly smile. Even without words, she had an unbelievable ability to settle Bonnie’s nerves. 

“It’s just the jetlag.” The excuse was pathetic and she knew that but Caroline seemed to have accepted it – or at least she just chose to.

Falling back into silence, Bonnie felt a tinge of excitement to be going back _home._ It had been so long since she had returned to her childhood home and something inside of her was craving the familiarity. She wanted to sit in her living room, on that old couch that should have been replaced years ago and sleep in her bed with her stuffed animals and far too many pillows. It was just what she needed. 

10 more minutes of driving and they pulled up outside her place. It stood there exactly like she left it three years ago. She couldn’t deny that she’d wished there was somebody there, waiting for her. Grams, Dad, even Enzo…as much as she wanted to be there, she wasn’t looking forward to the idea of being alone there. 

As though she’d read her mind, Caroline spoke. 

“Bonnie are you sure you don’t want to just stay with us? There’s more than enough space in the boarding house.” She chewed at her lip, looking hesitantly at her.

“You’ve done enough Care, I’ll be fine.” Bonnie dodged.

She knew her friend was just trying to be helpful, trying to make sure she didn’t feel so alone but the last place she ever wanted to be was there with them (or him

“I know but you’ll be in that old house all by yourself, I don’t want you to get lonely…” She trailed off.

“It’s my home Care, it’s where I want to be.”

“Really?” She seemed anxious to continue. “Or do you just want to avoid a certain…someone?” She avoided eye contact with the witch as she said this.

Bonnie opened her mouth but no sound seemed to leave. She stared down at her hands as if in shame. 

“You have to talk to him at some point, it’s not like you can avoid it forever.” 

“I’d rather ignore him for as long as possible, maybe up until the actual wedding, who knows?” She tried to laugh it off (unsuccessfully).

“You’re gonna avoid him for the next 4 months? Bonnie that’s ridiculous.”

“No it’s more like it’s necessary.”

Bonnie could feel her heartbeat starting to speed up, the nervousness setting in. She had to get out of the car, it only made her feel more trapped. Right then, she got out, her carry-on in tow, and headed to the trunk, taking out her suitcases. Caroline was right behind her. _Damn her vamp speed._

“Bonnie…”

“I appreciate the help but I’m just…I’m just not ready yet.” 

“Look, I don’t know what happened between you two – and that’s fine – but you can’t keep hiding from it. From him. The Bonnie I know wouldn’t do that. She’d look into the eye of storm with her head held high and just deal with it.”

Caroline bore holes into the side of Bonnie’s head with her intense stare and it took all of her strength not to crack under it.

“I guess I’m not the Bonnie you used to know then.” She responded back with a sad smile. “Thanks – really – but it’s my problem and I’ll deal with it the way I want to.”

Her eyes met Caroline’s. She saw the concern in them. The worry. But she was perfectly capable of handling herself and her problems. Even if it meant avoiding them for the time being – for the sake of her own peace of mind. She was here for Caroline, not to drown under the weight of the past and have to stir up all those old emotions. 

“I promise I’m okay Care.”

She hugged Caroline and gave her a squeeze to let her know she was fine. 

Or at least she would be.

* 

Damon usually chose to avoid waking up any time before noon. Almost 200 years of being alive and he still struggled to find a single reason valid enough for him to be up so early. But Elena had to head to her residency and she was surprisingly loud getting ready, managing to wake him up from his beauty sleep.

“5 more minutes.” Damon tried pleading with her, sitting up in bed whilst she put on her shoes.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“We could do this all day Elena but…I could think of some other stuff to do instead.” He tried snaking his arm around her hips to pull her back into their shared bed.

“I don’t want to be late Damon, Dr. Coleman already doesn’t like me very much and I don’t want to give her any more reason to.” 

“Come on, you’re never late, why not just for today?”

“I’ll be back later and we can pick this up where we left off.” She leaned into his cheek and gave him a soft kiss, dotting kisses along his jawline up to his ear.

The past few days Elena had noticed Damon was particularly affectionate. More so than usual. As curious as the sudden change made her, she was already late so she didn’t dwell on it too much. She got up and left, leaving him alone. 

As soon as she slipped out the door, Damon flopped back onto the bed. He cringed internally at his recent bout of neediness. Elena had definitely noticed it but it was like he couldn’t control himself. As if he had something to prove. Which he didn’t.

After some debating though, he threw the covers off and left to grab a blood bag from downstairs. He was already awake so he decided to take advantage of the day and work on the Camaro. She needed some repairs and he needed the distraction. 

Leaving his room, he rolled his eyes once he heard the hushed whispers of his dear brother and blondie downstairs. They forgot how easily sound travelled in the house. He was ready to disrupt their little conversation in the way only he could but idled just before walking in, choosing to eavesdrop instead against the wall. Amongst the whispers, he heard it. Her name. 

“What? so she’s not even going to see him? Or talk to him?” Stefan’s voice rang with incredulity.

“I don’t know, she seemed pretty determined to avoid him at all costs.” Caroline sighed and without seeing her Damon could see that frustrated look on her face, one that was reserved for times of particular stress.

“Yeah but it’s Damon. He was like her best friend.” 

_Was._ Damon winced at that.

“Yeah but it’s Bonnie, once she’s made her mind up, that’s it.”

 _Bonnie._ Damon tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat to no avail. It was a hell of a long time since he’d last spoken to Bonnie, not that he hadn’t tried to. He wrote her a letter after he’d woken up years ago. He remembered wanting to find her and give it to her. So, she would’ve understood what was going through his mind. To justify his behaviour. But he didn’t go through with it. She’d avoided him as much as possible once her and Elena’s lives were unlinked and before he knew it, she was gone. Desperate to get away from their town. No goodbye or anything. At least not to him. 

_You didn’t say goodbye then, you don’t deserve a goodbye now._

He heard her voice in his head clear as day, as if he only just heard it yesterday and not three years ago. The sharp clarity. The emotion. He felt every word hit him like a knife to the heart – or perhaps stake to the heart.

She told him that the last day he saw her before she left.

* 

_He stormed into her dormitory feeling furious and confused and all sorts of emotions he didn’t have time to analyse._

_He timed it perfectly. He knew Caroline was tied up flirting with his brother in their weird little ‘will-they-won’t-they’ situation. Bonnie couldn’t hide behind plans with Care or work or anything else. She was going to speak to him face to face._

_She stood over her bed, packing things into her suitcase, her back turned to him. She didn’t pause or cease packing when she heard him enter. And she definitely knew it was him._

_“So when exactly were you going to tell me you were leaving Bon-Bon? Because I seem to be the only one who had no idea!” He raised his voice unapologetically. He was mad. And he wanted answers._

_“I was hoping you’d just hear it from Elena.” Bonnie sighed, her voice controlled and steady. Lacking any of her characteristic Bonnie charm._

_“My best friend was going to skip town and hope that my girlfriend would just say ‘oh yeah she’s long gone now Damon’ and I’d be okay with it?” He stared at the back of her head trying to understand what she was thinking._

_“I’m surprised you’d even care.” She retorted, still not looking at him._

_Damon had had enough of this. He walked towards her and placed his hand on her arm gently to stop her packing. She still didn’t even spare him a glance._

_“Bonnie Bennett look at me.”_

_Slowly she looked up at him._

_Green eyes stared back at him, clouded by something. Something he didn’t recognise. But he saw how glossy they were. Bonnie was trying to hold it together._

_“Bon…” He didn’t know what to say or what she wanted to hear._

_“What do you want from me Damon?” the exhaustion in her voice was clear and present as she maintained eye contact with him._

_“I don’t know.” He tried searching in her eyes for something. A clue. A feeling. Something. “I just want you to talk to me.”_

_“I am talking to you.”_

_“You know what I mean.”_

_She sighed. She turned her eyes away from him, pulling her arm back and going over to a drawer, picking stuff out of it._

_“No I don’t, I have nothing else to say.” Once again, her back was turned to him._

_He closed his eyes, turning around, trying to calm down. “Nothing? Not even a goodbye?”_

_Bonnie stopped dead. She slammed the drawer shut. He knew he struck a nerve._

_She spun around in all her fury and stared at him straight on. “You didn’t say goodbye then, you don’t deserve a goodbye now.”_

_“What so that’s it? That’s how we’re leaving it?” His words came out quietly, cautiously._

_She didn’t respond. Her eyes looked down to the floor, avoiding his gaze._

_“Bon, you’re my best friend…”_

_Her eyes shot back up, staring straight into his eyes with that unfamiliar look he couldn’t quite decipher, with her chin tilted upwards._

_“That’s not enough. Not anymore.”_

__

* 

Damon rested the back of his head against the wall and closed his eyes as he relived the moment over and over. He’d thought of a million different ways that night could have gone. What he said. What he didn’t say. What he should’ve said. But he couldn’t take it back. As much as he wanted to.

“Damon what are you doing?” Caroline’s panicked voice cut through his train of thought.

She definitely thought he’d heard something.

“Came to get a blood bag for breakfast Care, I believe it’s the most important meal of the day.” He smirked at her as he usually does, trying to distract her.

“Hm.” She narrowed her eyes at him, not fully believing him but not pushing it further.

He walked past her and tried to avoid her gaze. He didn’t want her to pry or, god forbid, try to get him to open up. He didn’t want that. 

The only thing he wanted was to see Bonnie. And that was what he was going to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys! sorry it took me a while to post and it's kinda short, uni has been kicking my butt lol buuut things are moving along a bit. i hope you enjoy!
> 
> p.s. i'm not gonna be portraying elena as a terrible person or some villain in this fic bc i don't actually hate her, i think the writers just really screwed her character over in terms of development and stuff ( as they did with a lot of the characters but :) )


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